Aggressor Adventures announces the results of its latest Consumer Travel Index, which tracks consumer sentiments on a bi-monthly basis.


Traveling to Reunite and Celebrate

Following months of FaceTime and Zoom fatigue, far-flung friends and relatives are relishing the opportunity to travel together again. The first Index survey question asks respondents for their reasons for traveling over the next 12 months. Results show more than 66 percent of respondents said their travel plans include a trip to reunite with friends or loved ones. Similarly, in a March survey from American Express Travel, 71 percent of respondents said they planned to travel to visit loved ones they hadn’t been able to see during the pandemic.

Additionally, Index survey results show more than 50 percent of respondents are traveling to celebrate the success or a milestone of a friend, loved one or themselves.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic caused even the best of friends to become long-lost friends. Customers are combining traveling and being together with loved ones, two of the most longed-for practices during more than a year of pandemic lockdowns, into adventures of a lifetime,” says Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures. “People spent countless milestones—birthdays, graduations, honeymoons—cooped up at home. We are seeing customers choosing adventure travel as an opportunity to combine multiple celebrations into one bucket list trip.”

Traveling in Groups Again

By limiting social engagements, leisure activities, and travel, the pandemic forced many people to live an independent life without face-to-face interaction. The result was a collective sense of loneliness— one that is now shaping what we do, what we buy, and even how we travel. The second Index survey question asks respondents for details surrounding who they plan to travel with over the next 12 months. Results show only 7 percent of respondents plan to travel alone. According to the 2021 Bach Travel Trends Report, travelers are making up for lost time and planning all kinds of group trips. A whopping 88 percent of respondents are attending two or more group trips in 2021, and over 12 percent are attending at least five.

“Customers are telling us they want to travel in groups, not only because they see small group travel as the safest option for them, but because they missed the shared experience travel offers,” says Lisa Stierwalt, Travel Agent with Aggressor Adventures. “We’re seeing travelers reuniting with multi-generational family and long-lost friends from high school and college. I think group travel will ultimately be responsible for the travel industry’s full recovery.”